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Campaigners take DCLG to court over right to ethical divestment of pensions

Campaigners have today begun a legal battle to fight a government ban on council pension schemes withdrawing investment from companies associated with Israel.

The group, called the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), said that communities secretary Sajid Javid may have acted unlawfully by attempting to restrict ethical divestment from companies complicit in the occupation of Palestine.

PSC’s argument was heard by a court today as campaigners voiced their concern that people’s ability to freely express their point of view on the Palestine conflict was being ignored.

The group have also said that the government has previously tried to stop the case being brought to court by arguing that permission to proceed should be refused, a plea the permission judge refused due to the case being “of significant public importance”.

“We have high hopes that Theresa May’s government will have more egg on its face after this court case,” said Hugh Lanning, chair of the PSC.

“Everyone has a right to peacefully protest Israel’s violation of Palestinian human rights. It is reprehensible to forbid people from making decisions about where their own money goes, and forcing them to profit from human rights abuses.

“It’s yet another example of the government’s obsessive need to trample on local democracy.”

DCLG told PSE it would not give a comment until after the judicial review tomorrow.

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